Off-Center Steering Wheel Fixed

[Kingpin]

Thought I'd post this for all of those guys who are still learning their way around their trucks like me.

The Steering wheel on my son's M1009 was turned about 90 degrees to the left. I assume this happened as a result of the previous owner putting much larger tires on the truck.

I kept reading what an easy fix it was... simply adjust the drag link. Having never adjusted a drag link, nor seen one for that matter, I had to find it first.

It is right behind the drivers side front wheel. It's about 6 inches long, and it looks and acts like a turnbuckle. It ties together two threaded rods end to end, has bolt tightened clamps around each end. I got under the truck, took one look at it and got the WD-40. The thing was rusted and stuck big time. I let the lubricant penetrate overnight, and the bolted clamps loosened fairly easily.

MAKE SURE THE WHEELS ARE STRAIGHT BEFORE YOU GO ON.

When I tried to turn the sleeve (drag link) itself... it wasn't budging even with a pipe wrench and a hammer. And the angle from under the truck was nearly impossible. My neighbor suggested jacking up the truck and popping off the front wheel, and that made all the difference. We could get at it from the side then and could really see what we were working on. More lubricant.. cleaned rod threads with wire brush.. and it slowly came loose.

The steering wheel needs to be unlocked with the key in the ignition while you're adjusting the drag link so it can move into the correct position. At least that's the way we did it, and I can't imagine it would work if it was locked. We were unsure if this was bad for the glow plugs so we turned the truck off every couple of minutes. Maybe one of the real mechanics can answer that.
Anyway, we got the steering wheel lined up... tightened the clamps back onto the drag link, and put the front wheel back on.

Tools: Lubricant, pipe wrench and a cheater pipe, and wrenches for the clamps. Don't underestimate the importance of lubricant and cleaning the threads.

Took us about an hour.. a real mechanic could do it much faster!

Hope this helps any beginner who needs help. This is a great forum, and a real money-saver. Thanks guys!

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Cool. Ought to do mine but I'm waiting until I do the XJ steering shaft swap too.


Question though...how would bigger tires make the steering wheel off center?

 

[Crash_AF]

Ok, maybe I missed something so I'll ask... what is the "XJ" steering shaft swap? I'm assuming it's a Jeep Cherokee shaft, but why is it better?

And, you don't have to turn the switch to on, just to unlock. (Turn it off with the shifter in 'R' or 'D')

And there is probably a lift on the truck to go with the big tires... that's what happened to my 'burban.

Later,
Joe

 

[AJMBLAZER]

XJ steering swap:
CK5 Forums
Once again showing why CK5 is the greatest for 73-87(91) GM fullsize tech.
Basically you're replacing the stock steering shaft from the column to the steering box and it's rag joint with a 80's-early 90's Jeep Cherokee XJ shaft that has a u-joint. Only works on 80's GM's (which the CUCV's are luckily for us) and you have to slightly modify the steering shaft.


If there's a lift involved and the steering is out of whack then that probably means they didn't install any of the steering fixes like crossover steering or simpler yet, a drop pitman arm.

 

[Crash_AF]

I don't have a registered account at CK5 so I can't see the thread you posted, but I understand what you're saying now. I was big into XJs about 9 years ago and know exactly what you're talking about now that you explained it.

Later,
Joe

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Hmmm, I thought you could see it but not post.

At any rate yep, it's supposed to be one of the better things you can do to take the slop out of the steering. Between that and my ORD brace I'm hoping for some pretty firm steering.

 

[hobie237]

Hmmm, I thought you could see it but not post.

That's with a free account, you can see all sections but only post in the all access sections. If you don't bother to sign up for even a free account, you can't even see much. Which is fine. It's what keeps the riffraff out and the forum good.